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There are over 8,000 parish churches in England in which the fabric of the building is predominantly medieval. Most are buildings of historic interest rather than of any great architectural merit, a substantial minority however, have left England with a legacy of parochial buildings that is only surpassed by Italy and France. Some of the best churches such as Lavenham church and St Edmund, Southwold,both in Suffolk and St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, Fairford Church, Gloucestershire, which miraculously has retained all its medieval stained glass, are amongst the finest in Europe. The towers of the great 15th century Somerset churches have no equal in medieval parish church architecture anywhere in the world.
The majority of the population of England before 1350 were the unfree peasantry. Serfs tied to the land owned by the lord of the manor. In this deeply hierarchical society it was Christian doctrine that dignified the existence of the serf, in that it maintained all were equal in the eyes of god(although this didn't prevent the religious houses of the time selling and buying serfs like livestock) so in theory at least, within the confines of the parish church the serf and lord worshipped as equals.
The church exacted a heavy financial burden on the peasant, the tithe was an annual tax of ten percent of income and these financial liabilties extended beyond the grave in the form of 'mortuary' whereon the death of a peasant the church would claim the man's second best beast, the first would go to the lord as 'heriot'
In 1997 I visited the Saxon church of St John, Esomb, County Durham. This humble little building, beautiful in its simplicity has stood almost unaltered since it was built in the 670's ! Since then I've visited around 300 medieval parish churches all over England. My favourite (sentimental reasons) remains the church of St Helen, Sefton, on the northern outskirts of Liverpool near where I grew up. In many ways this church is a typical medieval church. Founded by a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror and was then granted the manor of Sefton, his family remained lords of the manor there for 800 years.
The medieval parish church resonates with the history of the lives of the peasantry, but much more, the very fabric of these buildings seem to have absorbed the meditations, joy and grief of generations of worshippers. No other piece of ground or space is comparable to a medieval parish church in this respect.
The majority of the population of England before 1350 were the unfree peasantry. Serfs tied to the land owned by the lord of the manor. In this deeply hierarchical society it was Christian doctrine that dignified the existence of the serf, in that it maintained all were equal in the eyes of god(although this didn't prevent the religious houses of the time selling and buying serfs like livestock) so in theory at least, within the confines of the parish church the serf and lord worshipped as equals.
The church exacted a heavy financial burden on the peasant, the tithe was an annual tax of ten percent of income and these financial liabilties extended beyond the grave in the form of 'mortuary' whereon the death of a peasant the church would claim the man's second best beast, the first would go to the lord as 'heriot'
In 1997 I visited the Saxon church of St John, Esomb, County Durham. This humble little building, beautiful in its simplicity has stood almost unaltered since it was built in the 670's ! Since then I've visited around 300 medieval parish churches all over England. My favourite (sentimental reasons) remains the church of St Helen, Sefton, on the northern outskirts of Liverpool near where I grew up. In many ways this church is a typical medieval church. Founded by a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror and was then granted the manor of Sefton, his family remained lords of the manor there for 800 years.
The medieval parish church resonates with the history of the lives of the peasantry, but much more, the very fabric of these buildings seem to have absorbed the meditations, joy and grief of generations of worshippers. No other piece of ground or space is comparable to a medieval parish church in this respect.
Good start to the thread, looking forward to seeing more :cheers:
